Commission weighs adding landslide analysis to hazard‑mitigation and pre‑disaster recovery work

Perry County planning staff told the commission their hazard‑mitigation update is nearly complete and that most municipalities have returned resolutions. Commissioners discussed adding landslide and debris‑flow assessment as an explicit element of the mitigation plan and integrating lidar/GIS modeling to identify high‑risk slopes along Blue Mountain and other ridge features.

Staff said a contractor working on the county’s pre‑disaster recovery plan (MCM) indicated it could rework the contract to include landslide analysis so the county can use the available grant funds before they expire. Commissioners asked staff to scope the technical work, estimate costs and explore joint approaches with neighboring Dauphin County to reduce costs.

Members described a GIS‑based workflow to identify steep slopes, groundwater discharge and likely failure areas, but noted additional verification and lidar accuracy checks are necessary. Staff said any landslide element would also require a budget line item in next year’s county budget or identification of alternate funding sources.

Next steps: staff will reach out to the pre‑disaster recovery contractor for scoping and cost, check lidar and GIS layers for known historic slides, and report estimated costs and potential funding options at the next commission meeting.